Chicagoist: Venus Zine's Top Female Guitarists

PengIn

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:29:28 -0600

Lori S. from Acid King and Emily Burton from Fireball Ministry would top my list of female guitarists. They are seriously heavy ladies. Well, normal sized ladies who play seriously heavy music.

Freak_Deaky

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:24:54 -0600

Did Liz Phair really play guitar on her first album? Hmmmm...

Chuck Sudo

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:55:13 -0600

Nancy Wilson. She's also a serious MILF. Jasmine: If there was a list for bassists, Me'Shell would be right at the top. Unfortunately, I wished her recorded output was as consistent as her talent. I could listen to Bitter and Comfort Woman from beginning to end. Just wished the rest of her records were as strong.

Tankboy

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:22:24 -0600

matty, Nancy Wilson is the guitarist from heart, and she is on the list.

plumbum82

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:10:30 -0600

No Shonen Knife?

matty

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:45:36 -0600

What about the guitarist from Heart?

Dig

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:50:10 -0600

Carrie is a far, far better guitarist than Corin and I don't think anyone would argue with that, including the ladies themselves. To that end, how in the world does Rolling Stone not feature Ms. Brownstein on their list when they've added Joan Jett? Oh that's right... they are irrelevant and misguided. Not that Jett should necessarily be off, but she's not in the same league creatively or energetically speaking as Carrie. I'll 2nd Maybelle Carter while wondering why Liz Phair would be recognized as being more than an adequate guitarist.

RobJ

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:41:20 -0600

Interesting... Carrie Brownstein makes the list but not Corin Tucker. Take that Corin!

Marcus Gilmer

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:38:04 -0600

Jasmine re: bassists, that's the rationale I'm using for accepting Kim Gordon's absence.

Marcus Gilmer

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:37:56 -0600

Jasmine re: bassists, that's the rationale I'm using for accepting Kim Gordon's absence.

jasmine

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:34:12 -0600

Also, no Allison Robertson of The Donnas?

jasmine

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:32:41 -0600

Me'Shell Ndegéocello? I guess bassists don't rank on this list, or perhaps they get their own...

Chicago J

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:11:05 -0600

'relatively unique way of playing the guitar' = appregiated bar chords w open B and high E strings. Snoooozeeeeeeeee..............

Navin

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:56:06 -0600

Maybelle Carter! Damn she's probably one of the only (few?) women who's credited with actually creating a style of playing.

Tankboy

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:54:28 -0600

Actually, on her first 3 albums, I think it can be argued that Phair employed a relatively unique way of playing the guitar. Being a good guitar player doesn't alway have to mean you shred, it merely needs to mean you can make the instrument speak evocatively for you.

Navin

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:51:21 -0600

I was pleasantly surprised to Sister Rosetta Tharpe since I admittedly expected to see a very whitebread list of people. I was stunned not to see Thalia Zedek (Come) not on the list though, she owns a good portion of the ladies on that list.

matilda

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:43:55 -0600

I wonder if previous generations were as obsessed with lists as we seem to be.

Chicago J

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:38:29 -0600

There is no way in hell Liz Phair and Top Guitar player should ever be mentioned in the same sentence. She pushes around a few bar chords and is half way decent w open chords. Add in a few 2 or 3 note solos and that's all she's got. Alright- you can now go back to gossiping about her.

Marcus Gilmer

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:34:09 -0600

Tankboy, you stud. Was this Matador-era Liz? I've been a huge Hatfield fan for years and years. I discovered her stuff in the late 90's after being into Belly, Throwing Muses, and the Blake Babies in high school in the early 90's. Of course, I was surprised to discover that Hatfield was actually IN the Blake Babies. I was slow on the uptake even then...

Chuck Sudo

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:33:04 -0600

Not much to hate about that list. They did include Nancy Wilson, Bonnie Raitt, Kaki King, Ruyter Suys and Lita Ford. The omission of any of those five would have made the list suspect.

Tankboy

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:27:15 -0600

All of Hatfield's albums since 2000 have featured her playing positively heavy-assed massive riffs. I love big noise coming from such a little girl. And did I tell you about the time Liz Phair shot me down outside Danny's (eons ago) and I didn't even realize it was Liz Phair until after she left and the bartenders started teasing me mercilessly. Skills. I haz them.

Tankboy

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:25:01 -0600